Question for People with E-BAY knowledge.

[BlueJazz]

I'm pretty new to E-bay (just signed up last week).
It seems OK but I do have this question..

Why are the shipping prices so darn high?
I was looking at a used motherboard for a old computer I have and although the basic price wasn't bad, by the time you add in the shipping cost ($19.99)...it kinda' sours the whole deal.

I see some stuff on Ebay that couldn't cost more than $1.25 to send and yet the sellers have $6.95 as the shipping price.
Christ!..Are they nuts? or crooked or what??

[Squatch]

1. One more chance to make money from you.

[derbstyron]

2. They pay E-Bay a percentage on the sale price

But get to keep the total amount used for Shipping and Handling

[fnottr]

14. yeah, I think this is it

Ebay doesn't take a cut of the shipping cost, so it makes sense from the sellers point of view to undercharge the actual item and make it up with shipping. That way they don't have to give as much to e-bay, as the fees can get kinda high (especially if you're doing a reserve auction or an auction with a high minimum bid). This is especially true with cell phone accessories, they go for about $1, but cost $8 to ship. It's still a whole lot cheaper than buying them from the dealer though.

[annabanana]

3. People are pretty much free to charge what they want for shipping...

The thing to do is make sure it's specified, or send a query to the seller before you bid to make sure. If you think it's too high, you bid on someone else's offer..(most things are offered by several people)

[Califooyah Operative]

4. Because its Shipping AND Handling. So its vague, and they can screw you..

out of a couple more bucks.

[Cobalt Violet]

5. Sellers charge what they want.

I send most of my stuff out priority mail and always try to charge about what the actual mailing cost would be. Some add a handeling fee into the shipping charge. I tend not to do this or just a low one of $1.00-$2.00 because I do have some expense. When shipping a painting good packing extremely is important.

Some sellers do try to make a buck with inflated shipping charges. So check some other sellers out.

I'm pretty clueless about how much it would cost to ship a motherboard.

[BlueJazz]

8. Motherboard would be about 6 bucks.. (UPS) tops.

I guess I need to seach more for the best total deal...

[2Design]

6. ebay takes a chunk - then paypal takes another chunk -

costs of shipping materials and your gas and time to ship - if they are a store - they have volume - to pack something right it takes more and it weighs more -

ups takes a chunk
insurance is a chunk

it all adds up and we don't have as much mark up to work with

most stores have 50% markup for sure to work with

if you don't like the shipping cost on an item - move on

also we pay by the price of the item to ebay - so sometimes we put something into the shipping

I have started to look up the cost to the far side of the country - and it is usually the person who wants to negotiate pricing that cost you money - they will drain a seller dry

just had one on amazon - bought the book and said he went to his first class and found out it is wrong - college classes don't start in dec - so I already know he is a dead head - wants to return it - I paid shipping above what amazon gives us - so I lose - he like cheap books but did not properly check what he was buying to start with - I want to block him from ever buying from me again

[ocean girl]

7. As a former eBay seller...

I can tell you this: the margin of profit that you make on eBay nowadays is so slim that often the only way you can make money is with your shipping costs.

Add to that the time it takes to find items, photograph them, write descriptions, design and list your items, answer emails, collect the money, wrap the item and stand in line at the post office and you end up making about $1.00 an hour.

However, some people do charge ridiculous prices for shipping. Just make sure you know what the price is up front and if the total price is too much, keep looking!

I think eBay is fabulous if you're a collector but for new stuff, I find it on sale locally. Many times you can find deals in retail stores on sale cheaper than eBay and it's much easier to return if you don't like it.

Good luck to you!

[Cobalt Violet]

13. I hate, hate, hate those $.01 painting with $35.00 shipping.

Made in Chinese sweatshops of course. Not to mention they clutter the painting listing and bury individual artist's work behind 20 pages of listings. So if you want your work to be seen you have to pay $20.00 to Feature Plus it.

Sorry just my ebay rant.

[oldtime dfl_er]

9. Honest sellers will tell you shipping costs

a LOT of people make an extra buck or two on postage on ebay. Don't let them. Parcel post takes awhile to reach but is cheap. Priority mail is a little more expensive but I think it's the "handling" part, rather than the "shipping" part where people pad their prices. Write BEFORE you bid and tell the seller you want the item but won't pay that kind of shipping charge. Most sellers, when called out, will make good. If they don't, well then screw 'em.

[gtp1976]

10. It's just a good way to fuck you, the buyer.

The seller can set the price as low as he/she wishes and then really stick it in deep with the shipping and handling. Perfectly legal, and for the most part more or less ethical because the terms are usually in the item description.

eBay has its flaws, but it is still a great place to buy things at a discounted price if you make sure to read all the details.

I used to sell a lot of movies when I worked at Blockbuster Video in college. I could get a very discounted rate on movies that weren't available for retail purchase but were being sold as "Previously Viewed Tapes." I would take a little bit in the shipping/handling category, but I would never inflate it much past a buck or two. As in, if I knew it cost $1.50 to actually ship, I might charge $2.50 or $3.00 for shipping.

What absolutely chaps my ass, though, is when I see something that would cost maybe $1.00 to ship and the shipping/handling is around $10 bucks or so. That's just being an asshole, IMO.

[yardwork]

11. The vast majority of experiences I've had with ebay sellers are positive

I've been buying things on ebay for years, and 99% of the sellers are wonderful. I'm choosy, though. I only bid on items from sellers with good feedback. I communicate clearly with the seller.

A couple times I have protested a high shipping charge and the seller has agreed to send the item a cheaper way. This is an option if you are not in a big hurry, for instance.

Unfortunately, there are fraudulent sellers and sellers of fakes all over ebay. They tend to offer fake designer goods. Beware.

[Robeson]

12. Because its done by weight, and what the postal service charges...

...I have a business on ebay, but you'd be surprised how much shipping cost is. It also depends on the zip code that the buyer or seller lives in. That being said, $19.99 seems high for just a motherboard.

However, I have a business that sells pottery. The cost to ship a piece can be anywhere from $6.00 to $13.00 or $14.00. Again, it all depends on where your zip code is and where the other persons zip code is. I ship mine through US Postal, which is generally cheaper, and I ship with insurance, which is usually an additional $1.30. I don't set the prices, the US Postal service does, based on package size and weight. In general, whatever the mailing costs are, I add an additional $1.00 for handling, because packing materials, and my time, ain't free. But shipping costs for a lot of items, especially if they have weight, are more than most people think. If you think you are getting a raw deal, go to the US Postal site and figure the cost, based on destination and weight, and you can figure it out yourself. I give this address to my customers all the time, and they usually come back saying, "yeah, you were right". Its at http://postcalc.usps.gov/

Hope that helps.

[pansypoo53219]

15. i make money on shipping

but i use a shitload of trape.

but it's best to look at shipping costs 1st.
i am pretty reasonable though.